Want to sell my art, don't want to spend a lot to produce it and then find no buyers! Should I ask double what I paid?

<p>So, I don't have a lot of money to develop and frame my work for sale; and then find I'm crazy and nobody wants to purchase. My sister owns a restaurant where I can display. There is a professional photo place in town that can produce beautiful prints etc., but well, it costs. I've cheaply printed some 8x10s at CVS, but they just look like crap! I thought I could get some feedback here.... Thanks! Jennifer Teare</p>

<p>If you want critiques of your images, that's what the Photo Critique Forum is for. Personally I find it's hard to get a lot of comments on photos, unless you have one that really knocks people's socks off, and most of us don't get a shot like that every day. In a way, I guess it's a good way to gauge your marketing chances, because personally I am even more reluctant to pull out my wallet for prints than to disperse critiques on this site.</p>

<p>The restaurant idea seems like a good one. Why not take the three images that you consider the most marketable, get them printed and framed to look their best, and hang them in the entrance area of your sister's restaurant. They need to have a clearly visible price tag so people know they are for sale, and double what you paid for the printing and framing would seem like a good starting point. If they sell like hotcakes, up the price. If they are still there in 6 months time, you have something to beautify your own home ;-)</p>

Presentation is where to be, as you may get show space for free , pick the best two or three , spend the money on print and frame, and go try. If it sticks well you can offer them at cost to family or friends ? I have a friend who uses this avenue and his work sells ,your work should be the best you have , sorry double emphasis!. Let us know how it tumbles regards miken

<p>Jennifer:</p>

<p>Pick a single image, and tell us why it's special, and why you think people will buy it.</p>

<p>Eric</p>

<p>I think the only way to find out if they will sell is to "find out if they will sell" by making up samples and doing as Frank suggests. You can't find out without creating the objects to sell. At worst, you will have some nice prints for your home, as he said.</p>

<p>As Ford found out years ago with the Edsel, people <em>saying</em> they might buy something is not an actual indication that people <em>will actually buy</em> something.</p>

<p>Jennifer, it seems like a very reasonable question and concern. And this is a good place to get an idea of what will sell or what's popular. The thing I learned about getting critiques here or feedback in general is that you get somewhat in accordance to what you give. When I was new, someone advised me to just start commenting on other people's photos, by going through the critique section here. I didn't feel that qualified to judge others work but I talked about how photos made me feel, what I noticed, and even did tell some what I liked and didn't like, always in a respectful way. Most people responded really well to my visiting their photos. I would say, over the years, I've received in comments on my own photos about 10% of the amount of comments I've made on others. But it's been worth it. First of all, I learn a lot by just articulating my thoughts about others' work. I've met some very good people and found some very interesting photographers. Because I've given in that way, I've gotten some very valuable feedback and learned a lot of good stuff. So, my best advice in terms of getting feedback here would be to start doing for others what you'd like done for you. It seems to work like a charm, although don't expect a 1:1 kind of return on your investment.</p>

"There is a professional photo place in town that can produce beautiful prints etc., but well, it costs. I've cheaply printed some 8x10s at CVS, but they just look like crap!"

 

Send some files to mpix.com for printing and see what they look like. If they "look like crap", then it is not (necessarily or only) CVS's fault. A color 8x10, depending on paper choice will be $2.00 to 2.50 per. There are other good inexpensive printing sevices besides Mpix, but that's the one I use.

<p>Jennifer, there are no guarantees. You have already received some sage advice above. At least you have access to wallspace.</p>

<p>If there is a Costco near you then use them for your printing. They are the least expensive I've found and will do a good job, provided your monitor is calibrated, of course. </p>

I agree with Don...try Mpix. I have gotten excellent prints from them.

 

I don't have experience at selling framed prints but a framed 8x10 is pretty small and would not catch my

attention in a restaurant. If I were to sell photos, I would go with 11X14 minimum size, double matted and

mounted in a fine frame. That is not cheap, but proper matting will give the image a professional touch.

<p>I would jump at this opportunity to get, in effect, free gallery space. The facts of life are you have to spend money to make money. If you put up cheap prints that look bad, nobody is going to want them and you'll harm your reputation before you even get started. Good prints are not necessarily expensive -- Mpix does 8x10s for under $5 and probably 11x14 for $10. You can use simple aluminum section frames and matt board, which are cheaper online than buying locally. As for markup, you have to look at more than the cost of the print and the framing -- consider your time, not just in shooting and printing the photo but in learning your craft, plus all that you have invested in equipment. Around $25 is the going rate for a loose 8x10 from a portrait session where you may have already charged $100 and up for a session fee and know you're making the sale. I would say the minimum for a framed 8x10 of a "pretty picture" you've shot in effect on spec is more like $50. I had a friend once who did beautiful Ansel Adams style landscapes and sold B&W prints at craft and art shows. At $50 for a framed, matted 11x14 (circa 1975) they weren't selling because it seemed high for "just a photograph." But when he raised his price to $500 they sold like hotcakes because at that price "it must be art." With that said, people will part with $25 quicker than $50. Figure out what your market will bear. You might also offer smaller prints or even postcards.</p>

<p>Thank you everybody! I love all the advice! I'll start critiquing right now. If you plug my name in search, you can critique my 5 photos! I'll take a look at all of yours too. I'll try to get 3 photos up in my sisters restaurant soon. No pain, no gain. Jen</p>

<p>My recommendation, if you want to sell your art pay attention to those who may purchase from you. Pay attention to those who don't purchase from you and find out why!</p>

<p>I find that 50% of the population aren't even interested in my photography, of the remaining 50%, 25 to 30% like what I do but can't/won't spend the money for my art. It is the remaing few I need to get to to have them become a client of mine.</p>

<p>That's what you need to do. Figure out how to get to those who like how you view the world, as you see it, and are willing to part with some of their money buying some of you art. We all face that challenge.<br /> Take what people say with a grain of salt. If you run a photography business, beauty is in the eye of the checkbook holder. <br /> Nothing impresses me more than when someone pays me to make photographs for them. I feel honored and know I have a responsibility to fulfill a vision they have of whatever is in their heart, mind and soul with the photographs I make.</p>

<p>I have a responsibility to fulfill a vision they have of whatever is in their heart, mind and soul with the photographs I make.</p>

<p>I think that's a solid and good point of view to keep in mind.</p>

<p>You'll have to ultimately decide what works for you. A lot of different ways of working and different ways of relating to subjects and clients are out there and can overlap and it can depend on the client and lots of other factors.</p>

<p>I work a little differently. Though I do care about what clients think and want to do the best I can for them. I also often feel a responsibility to myself and my vision and to actually expand the visions and exceed the expectations of my subjects and clients. If they are "merely" satisfied, I may not have shown them something new, suggested for them to overreach where they are visually, opened some new ways of seeing to them that they might actually appreciate much more than what they expected. Often, subjects and clients don't expect enough and I love to see the thrill on their face when I show them something way beyond the vision they had. After all, I'm the photographer/artist/professional (pick one). I'm the one with the honed vision.</p>

<p>Thank you. It is hard sometimes when I love a photo I've edited, and a little voice in my head creeps in and says that others might like it more, if I changed it this way or that! I appreciate all the help you guys have given.</p>

<p>I took a look at the 5 photos you mentioned. None of them would inspire me to open my wallet, they fall into the snapshot category vs. art worth framing.</p>

<p>composition and lighting are fine, they just don't jump out and scream "Buy me, Buy me"</p>

<p>I took the one shot that did interest me and narrowed the focus to the fog and lightened it up a bit in Photoshop. Hope this different perspective is useful for you.</p>

<p>test</p>

 

<p>retry attachment, smaller</p>

<div></div>

<p>I agree there is a small selection, but it's a bit scattered, and I'm not seeing any shots that would hold up well to a large print. My favorite is the bee shot, but as the other commentor mentioned, that has been done by almost everybody who has picked up a camera, myself included.<br>

My suggestion is to shoot a lot more, and then come up with a carefully curated selection of images to print large and frame in the same manner. A show with a consistent theme and visual aesthetic is going to look much more appealing than a scattershot of 1 landscape, 1 flower shot, 1 macro, etc. <br>

That doesn't mean that it all needs to be one subject, but work on creating a collection of images that look really good together. I think what you need to do is spend a couple weeks taking a ton of photos. Don't worry about creating great images, don't edit any of them, just spend two weeks taking photos of everything that you find interesting, anything that catches your eye. You don't even need to use your fancy camera, snap photos with your cell phone if that's all you have with you.<br>

A trap a lot of photographers can fall into is trying to emulate the photography they admire, rather than developing their own unique way of seeing. Looking back at my first few years of photography, I see a lot of that. <br>

As for print sizes and cost, you can get 11x14 prints from Mpix for $7, and if there is a Jo-Anns near you, I think they have 50% off on frames right now, so you can get nice 16x20 frames with a mat for about $10-$15. For markup, I would got at least 3x. So if a framed 11x14 print costs you about $20, sell it for bare minimum $40, probably closer to $100. </p>

<p>As people have said above: better to get two photos printed and framed to professional standards, than to get four or five prints amateurishly framed. Poor and haphazard presentation says that you don't really care about your work and if you don't care, then potential customers won't care either.<br>

I would strongly recommend the book "Marketing Fine Art Photography" by Alain Briot. Lots of good, solid advice on getting your work out to the public.<br>

I apologize if this advice contains things that you have already done to prepare yourself, but first off I would join a local camera club. See what other people are shooting, and how. Enter your work in local competitions. It may cost $30 to submit two or three images to a county art society event, but you can learn a lot by going to the exhibit and seeing what the judges accepted. It will also give you the opportunity to talk to artists and photographers who are working at levels above your own; you learn more from them than you do talking to people who are at the same or a lower level of expertise!<br>

I would add that, if your well presented work does not sell at your sister's restaurant, look for venues forty or fifty miles away and try to get them hung there. I am constantly amazed at how a print that sells steadily in one gallery will sit in the bin and gather dust in another gallery less than sixty miles down the road.<br>

Good luck, and keep us posted!</p>

<p>I've been selling prints at art and craft fairs for last couple of years - although in the last 6 months I have really stepped up the effort to sell, and sales have really picked up.</p>

<p>The only golden rule that I have found, is that you need to get out there, and have the right images at the right place at the right time. I've tried a few shops and galleries, and to be honest they have not lead to any significant sales - particulary since they mark up considerably to generate their own profit.</p>

<p>Getting out there at fairs, and talking to people is the best route that I have found. It's you that sells the photo as much as the image itself - people buy when they are engaged, recognise a location / image and like you. Getting out and about, being recognised (a number of people who have bought prints after seeing me a number of times in the last few weeks at different locations - the recognition kicks in, and that's half the battle).</p>

<p>People shop as an experience, making that experience as pleasant and chatty as possible I think is what has helped me more than anything else. I like to think the phots are decent too, but I've seen many a photographer struggle at art/craft fairs that I've done - they have sometimes had better photos than me, but they are just not engaging with people in the belief that the images will 'sell themselves'.</p>

<p>Here is an idea. Next time there is an art show in your area, take a small printed book with you of your work. Seek out the gallery professional at the show and speak with them about your work. Presentation of you and your work is important at the shows. Speaking to the right people will also help you find galleries interested in your work.</p>

<p>Jen,</p>

<p>Consider selling prints via Zenfolio. I'm not getting rich, but I do get sales.</p>

<p><a href="http://harrington.zenfolio.com/">http://harrington.zenfolio.com/</a></p>